Tambourine
by reviewgirl911
Summary: Summary: Kat's pissed. Luckily, Patrick has a tambourine. A little K/P fluff!


** Hey! This is reviewgirl911 bringing you a one-shot! *cheers* I've never done 10 Things I Hate About You, but it is one of my favorite movies of all time. RIP Heath Ledger! Hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own 10 Things, but I have watched it ten million times.**

**Prompt: "You can't just buy me a guitar every time you screw up, you know?" "Yeah, I know. But then, you know, there's always drums, and bass, and maybe even one day a tambourine."**

**P.S., I know the dialogue said drums, but I thought a keyboard was just more practical for a small New York apartment. **

Kat Stratford was mad. More accurately, she was pissed. Of course, that tended to be the case when she was around Patrick Verona. He had the way of doing that to her. They had been together for years, ever since that kiss in the parking. It hadn't been easy. If anything, it was the hardest thing she had ever done. They fought constantly because Kat was moody and Patrick unpredictable and sometimes it felt like they were magnets that just simply repelled.

That being said, she always missed him after they fought. Now that they lived in New York, Patrick would simply head to the bar whenever they fought while Kat sulked and called Mandela to vent. She used to call Bianca, but the younger girl simply didn't understand. "Just break up with him," her sister advised as if it was just that simple. But it wasn't. As much as she hated Patrick sometimes, she needed him too.

Kat looked over to their small living room where a guitar, bass, and keyboard set. The guitar was the same one Patrick had bought her years ago with Joey's money. The bass was from a fight they had right when she had graduated Sarah Lawrence. Kat had wanted to move into the city, but Patrick wanted her to come with him to Australia. It strained the relationship for a few months. Kat had roomed with a friend while Patrick went off to Australia. It was three months later when she got a call that her dad had had a heart attack. The first person she called was Patrick. He flew back home with her, and when she got back to her friend's apartment, a bass guitar was sitting on her bed. She and Patrick started looking for an apartment the next day.

The keyboard was for a fight at Mandela's and Michael's wedding a year ago. Patrick had recently started smoking again to take out the misery of his shitty job but had kept it from Kat, who'd hated the habit. To his credit, he did it skillfully, but when he snuck out for a smoke during the reception, and Kat had caught him. That fight had been huge. Kat stayed with her dad that night instead of at the hotel with Patrick. The next morning, she woke up and found a keyboard sitting on the porch along with a pack of cigarettes.

This fight, however, was the biggest one they'd ever had. Kat had been feeling sick the past few days and had gone to the doctor. The information she found out had shocked her speechless. When she went home and told Patrick, he had started to freak out and yell. She'd yelled back. Eventually, he'd stormed out, and she had just sat on the couch and cried for a little while. She didn't call Mandela or Bianca, and she certainly didn't call her dad, who she knew would have another heart attack if he knew she was sleeping with Patrick.

So Kat just washed her face, put on pajamas, and laid on the couch, listening to the sounds of the city. It wasn't long before she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Patrick Verona walked the streets of New York, kind of drunk and very worried. He knew Kat would be worried about him, but he was too wrapped up in his drunken thoughts think about that. His life, their lives, were about to change forever. Things had been good. Kat was a writer now while he worked at a small record store. The pay was shit, but he liked it better than his old job at some club as a bartender. He had hated not going home and getting to see Kat every night.

Still, even with somewhat stable jobs and an apartment, they still weren't ready for a kid. They were only twenty-five, for God's sake! They weren't even grown up yet. Patrick, on the rare occasion he had pictured himself finding someone he loved enough to start a family with, had imagined himself older when he became a father. Kat was the first women he pictured that with. Of course, he had wanted to be married first.

Slowly becoming more sober, Patrick started to feel more and more like a dick. His reaction had probably not been what Kat was hoping for. Fuck, he could never seem to anything right when it came to her. Sometimes he wondered why she even bothered with him. They fought all the time. She was an attractive, intelligent, if not annoyingly stubborn, woman living in New York City. She could easily find someone else, someone better. Someone who wasn't scared to ask her to marry him.

Once, Patrick had asked Kat why she had never shown interest in any of the new men she was meeting at school and later at work. She had simply looked at him, annoyed, before responding, "I don't want any of them. I want you." He never asked again. Kat wanted him. She wanted Patrick Verona, the screw-up, the scary guy, the one you could never predict. He didn't think he could've been luckier.

Briefly, Patrick thought of what his and Kat's kid would be like. He hoped it was a girl, one who was a spitfire just like her mother. One with curly blonde hair and a smile known only to those who deserved it. At that moment, it was clear to him. He needed to go home. He needed to make things right with Kat. If there was one thing Patrick knew, it was that he loved Katarina Stratford, and he would anyone else who came along to.

Knowing exactly what he needed to get, Patrick headed to the music store a few blocks away.

Kat was asleep on the couch when Patrick got home. He smiled at the sight. For some reason, Kat was always peaceful when she was sleeping. There was no scowl on her face, no raised eyebrows, only a content smile. He carefully set his gift on the table, trying not to wake her. Despite this, Kat woke up, slowly stretching her arms out until she saw Patrick. "Hey," she said quietly, not taking her eyes off of him.

"Hey," he replied back. There was an awkward silence for a moment, Patrick at a loss for words while Kat just stared at him. "I'm sorry," he stated plainly.

"Patrick," Kat interrupted, frown lines marring her beautiful forehead. "You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do," Patrick insisted. "I'm sorry for freaking out and yelling at you. I know that wasn't really the reaction you wanted. I just freaked out. It's no excuse, but that's what I did. Truthfully, this could've waited, but it's not a bad thing."

"It's not?" Kat asked, hope building up in her chest.

Patrick smiled that smile that had always gotten her. "It's not," he agreed. "We both have stable jobs, and there's enough room in the apartment. I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."

With that, Kat pulled him down for a kiss. They kissed just like it was the first time all over again, the same heat and passion there. It would always be the two of them, forever. Kat knew that, and so did Patrick.

Patrick pulled away much to Kat's surprise. "I have a present for you," he announced with a smirk.

Kat's eyebrow rose. "Oh?" she asked. He gestured to a bag on the counter. Kat went and grabbed it. It had the name of the music shop from down the street. She opened the bag and laughed. It was a tambourine. She remembered that day so clearly.

_*flashback*_

_ Kat pulled away from Patrick."You can't just buy me a guitar every time you screw up, you know?" she asked_

_Patrick smiled at her. "Yeah, I know." Then he added with a smirk, "But then, you know, there's always drums, and bass, and maybe even one day a tambourine," before kissing her again._

Kat eagerly took it out of the bag and shook it for dramatic effect. It sounded off somehow. She examined it carefully to see if there was anything wrong with it. There, she found, something tied to one of those holes. It was a ring, she realized, turning to look at Patrick. He was right in front of him. "Kat, will you marry me?" he asked softly.

Kat's face broke out into a huge grin. "Yes," she whispered before kissing him. Patrick picked her up and carried her to their bedroom, where they went to celebrate. Not only were they starting a family, but they were also getting married, being each other's forever. Not that there was much doubt to that before, of course. Still, most people, even their friends, would be surprised to hear Kat Stratford, the shrew, had agreed to marry Patrick Verona.

Now, things could be perfect if they could only convince Kat's dad they hadn't had sex before the wedding...


End file.
